McAfee Knob — Attraction in Hollins

Great day! We set out early (0630) to hike up to McAfee Knob on the Appalachian Trail near Roanoke VA.

We had read the reviews about the trail head parking and yes it was challenging. The lot as about 85% full when we arrived. When we returned (1240) it was a mad house, cars everywhere! Terrible parking by many people! Cars were so close I had to pull out of our spot before my wife could get in the truck. A really nice hiker helped me navigate through the lot because I did not think I would fit through. There is a bus that you could schedule a ride with or if the lot is full you can park off the road on Old Catawba Rd. This did not put a damper on our visit, I just wanted future hikers to be in the know.

The hike took us just over 4.5 hours which was about 8.5 miles round trip. The knob is breathtakingly beautiful and quite spacious. Plenty of room for you to sit and look at the view without being on top of one another. There are two routes, the fire/access road and the Appalachian trail. The road is pretty easy and will take you to a cross point that leaves 1.3 miles to the knob. The Appalachian trial was moderately challenging, narrow, up and down, with trip hazards. The fall colors were beautiful and the temperature was perfect this time of year. Be sure to bring some water, you will want it. We had a great adventure in nature. Highly recommend enjoying the hike, the gorgeous views, and the adventure...

This weekend, actually it was on Independence Day, July 4th, I went hiking to 'conquer' the McAfee Knob, that I heard a lot good of from some of my work mates here in the US.🇺🇸👍 So together with a friend of mine, my countryman 🇵🇱😎👍, we took a ride to Catawba, VA,, left our car at the parking lot located on VA-311 at the feet of this famous mountain and... we took off to climb it up.😉 It's not that high, with an elevation of 974 m (3197 feet). It's named after Scotch 18th century settler. It is said to be one of the most iconic spots along the Appalachian Trail. And yeah, indeed it is worth taking those efforts and do the hiking. The panoramic views over the Catawba Valley are simply astonishing! Really wonderful.👍⛰🏞☀️ I took us exactly 2 hours to reach the top while hiking the easier path, called a Fire Road. While taking the way back downwards we did the Appalachian Trail. Even though the way downhills should have been easier and faster, it was not that much easier. It took us 1 h 45 minutes to get to the parking. Really exhausted and tired after having walked around 8 miles within total of roughly 4 hours. But definitely it was...

We arrived at about 7:15 and the trailhead parking lot was full so we parked on 864. We were lucky and didn't get ticketed like some of the other people did today. The trail was strenuous, but if you are in shape you should be okay. my wife and I are avid walkers and runners so we didn't have any problems, but if you're out of shape you could get stuck in there pretty quick. The first two and a half miles up in until the campground was variably up and down and rocky in sections. The terrain from the campground to the top was pretty much an incline all the way to the top. Once we got there, the view was just amazing! we started at about 7:40, so our hike to the top was not crowded. We saw a lot more people on the descent. Pick your bathroom breaks carefully 🙂.

Highly recommend, but take the recommendations at the trail sign seriously...wear proper hiking shoes, bring two quarts of water per person, bring snacks and be prepared for weather/temperature changes with...